TAHLEQUAH — In high school, Toni Gullett bypassed enrolling in AP classes and instead took every art-related class available. The move paid off.

Today, the 2005 Tahlequah High School graduate is pastry chef de partie for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New Orleans.

She uses her artistic skills to create cakes, pastries and unique plated desserts in one of the most famous food cities in the country.

At 24, Gullett has already racked up three years’ experience in a competitive market. But finding the right niche in the Big Easy wasn’t that easy.

“I pretty much worked my butt off for it,” said Gullett.

“I wanted to work with Chef Simone Fleming, and had to compete against two other chefs from the New York Culinary Institute of America.”

Gullett graduated from Platt Culinary Institute in Oklahoma City three years ago, and went directly into a six-month internship at the Ritz-Carlton.

She feels like she was better prepared than some who enter the culinary world because she competed as a member of the Oklahoma Culinary Team, traveling to contests in places like Chicago.

“The competition opened a lot of doors for me,” she said. “The judges are tough, and we had to perform what they call a ‘skills salon,’ which included breaking down chickens and fish. I remember one of the judges telling me I had no creativity or talent. But they have to be harsh; it’s how you learn. It’s necessary, and isn’t meant to put you down.”

Following her internship, she was offered a chance at a full-time position at the hotel, but had to vie against two pastry chef graduates from the New York Culinary Institute of America.

“Ironically enough, I performed better than the CIA graduates,” said Gullett. “Platt Culinary Institute isn’t exactly a well-known school on the cooking circuit.”

While cakes and confections are her current specialty, Gullett didn’t train specifically to be a pastry chef.

“When I graduated, I was unsure which way to go – pastry or culinary,” she said. “So I talked to a chef friend, who told me if I wanted to have any kind of personal life, I might want to go the pastry route.”

In her position at the hotel, Gullett is in charge of designing all the wedding cakes, and formerly supervised all the plated desserts for guests and specialties for the kitchen’s chef’s table.

“That was really intimidating,” said Gullett. “You’d have to prepare two desserts, and intermezzo and petite fours. They’d call up and say, ‘Johnny Depp will be here tomorrow and would like...’ whatever. Food allergies are always a problem, too. I remember one actor, Terrence Howard, who is gluten-intolerant, was visiting and asked for dessert. Well, it’s New Orleans; our specialties are bread pudding and beignets. But he was so nice and evidently enjoyed it.”

Gullett has helped prepare desserts for conferences staged by Chef Emeril Lagasse and events for Chef John Besh.

“Emeril gave us his recipes, and the desserts had to be prepared according to his specs,” she said. “We had to make, like, 500 of them.”

He may not know it, but Besh has even requested the recipe for Gullett’s sweet potato-bacon biscuits.

“The chefs in New Orleans often get together and have informal competitions,” said Gullett. “I was making the daily bread for the restaurant, and my boss asked for my recipe for the biscuits so he could make them for one of these contests. I went ahead and made them for him, and he told me later that John Besh had asked for the recipe. It was pretty amazing.”

Gullett maintains her culinary chops by helping out in whatever capacity is needed at the hotel.

“If the restaurant is busy, or someone doesn’t make a shift, I hop over and do it,” she said. “You have to know everything to do well in this business. None of us specializes in just pastry. I had to work the sauté station the other day, and it kicked my butt because those pans are so heavy. My face was red for hours because of the flames.”

While she enjoys what she’s doing, Gullett hopes to put her experience to good use in a smaller venue later on.

“I look at it this way: If I’m going to be working 14-hour days, seven days a week, I may as well be working for myself. I’d like to have my own place,” she said. “I’d like to own a tea room and serve brunch and lunch, and do cakes and catering – something where I can balance my personal and professional life.”

For now, Gullett is happy in New Orleans, and enjoys the simplicity and atmosphere the city offers.

“I love New Orleans,” she said. “You can walk everywhere. Driving is miserable and there’s no parking. If you do find parking, it’s expensive. I walk through the French Quarter every day on my way to work, and it has a smell, like incense and old wood. I love to hear the riverboats outside my home, and there’s an old lady who plays some sort of instrument – I can’t remember the name, but it’s beautiful.”

Gullett attributes her passion for cooking to her family.

“I know everybody says this, but I come from a family of amazing cooks, really,” she said. “From the time I was tiny, I pulled a chair next to my grandmother in the kitchen while she cooked.

“When all my friends in high school were taking AP classes for college, I was loading up on art classes. I figured culinary was one way to actually make a living creating art.”